


A Strange Sense of Humor

by Owlwithafringe



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Lab Mishaps, M/M, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-20 06:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1499930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlwithafringe/pseuds/Owlwithafringe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I know you’re not dead – I can hear you sniggering.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Strange Sense of Humor

**Author's Note:**

> A fiction written around the idea of this one sentence - “I know you’re not dead – I can hear you sniggering.” I don't own Doctor Who or the characters.

_Bang!_

The Doctor spilt the cup of tea that he had been drinking from all down his suit as he jumped at the loud noise. The Doctor had really been enjoying that cup of tea – there is nothing better in the universe than a good pot of Earl Grey. Well that and bananas – but explosions rarely proved to be good, and even less so when the Master was involved.

The Doctor jumped to his feet, grabbing a towel as he left the kitchen so he could dab at his sodden front. 

Not only had that been a waste of good tea but he’d ruined a perfectly good suit too. The Master wasn’t even in the room and he was wreaking havoc upon the Doctor.

The Doctor half jogged to the Master’s lab, where the explosion had come from.

Yes, you heard that right. _The Master’s lab._ Where the Master could perhaps build a new cabinet. 

Or a weapon of mass destruction.

The Doctor has been a bit reluctant to allow the Master a lab at first, mostly in fear for the safety of the universe, and Jack and Martha had been positively against the idea when they came and visited but the Master _had_ been ever so good lately and his brilliant mind did need to be amused, especially since the Doctor couldn’t always be there to do so. 

Anyway the Doctor had the utmost faith in the TARDIS and her capability to contain the Master and any hypothetical weapons of mass destruction. At least he hopes so.

So he allowed the Master to have his lab so he could tinker but under the conditions of having some rules.

Rule one was of course, that the Master was not to build any sort of weapon or creature of mass destruction, no matter how big or small it is.

Rule two: The Doctor must be able to check over what the Master has done, just in case he broke rule one.

Rule three, which the Doctor considered to be the most important rule of them all: No building anything to prank the Doctor with.

When the Doctor first made up these rules he only had the first two. It was quickly regretted though, and the third rule was implemented after an incident which will not be mentioned involving the Doctor’s favourite coconut scented soap and a tub of fluorescent pink dye had happened. (It took nearly a week before the colour faded, during which time the Master took great pleasure informing the Doctor he looked a bit flushed, and was he feeling ok?)

The Doctor reached the door to the Master’s lab and cautiously opened it, whipping out his sonic so he could look threatening if anything tried to attack him. It had happened before – The Master had a very loose definition of the first rule. (“It’s only a kitty-cat.” “It’s a six-foot beast with deadly claws and penchant for blood!” “I’m pretty sure that’s racist Doctor. That’s a slippery slope to evilness right there. And I thought _you_ were the one who loved all beings.”)

When nothing moved to rip his face off, the Doctor inched further through the door. A cloud of smoke which impaired the Doctor’s vision began to fade as it escaped through the open door. 

There were scorch-marks on the worktop of the Master’s bench where the explosion must of originated from and shards of broken glass littered the surrounding area, flasks and measuring cylinders caught up in the blast.

And on the floor lay the Master. A very still, not moving Master that was lying face down.

The Doctor rushed over to him, his converse crunching on the glass like the first steps of boots on fresh snow, and crouched next to his old friend’s body.

The Doctor’s hands flew everywhere, checking for injuries, thoughts racing at a hundred miles per hours as a mind-numbing panic began to set in.

What if he was fatally injured? What if he was already dead? What would happen if i lost him? I can’t lose him I just got him back, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I –

The Doctor stopped what he was doing and froze, not daring to even breathe.

There it was again.  
Was that..? – Yes it was..

The Doctor slowly pulled back from the Master’s body and stood up. With shaking legs he leant against the workbench and began to rub his fingers in a soothing, circular motion against his temples. He could feel the start of a headache coming on.

After letting out a deep breath and without opening his eyes – which he had shut as he tried to count to ten – the Doctor voiced a statement to the room which was otherwise silent except for a few muffled noises.

“I know you’re not dead – I can hear you sniggering.”

The Doctor dared to open one eye to see the reaction.

The Master’s shoulders began to heave as the sniggering began to spawn into full blown laughing. The Master rolled over onto his back and clutched his stomach as he laughed. The Doctor would even go as far to say that there were tears in the Master’s eyes, he was laughing so hard.

The Doctor crossed his arms against his chest and watched impassively as he waited for the laughing to subside. 

“Doctor.” The Master gasped between breaths. “I didn’t know you cared.”

The Doctor remained stoic, refusing to let himself react. This seemed to amuse the Master even more and sent him into another fit of hysterics.

“I don’t see how this is funny.” The Doctor said after a while, whilst definitely not pouting.

The Master, still chuckling and ignoring what the Doctor had said, replied, “Your face! You should have seen your face! I mean I couldn’t see it but I bet it was priceless.”

The Master, as always one for dramatics finished laughing by letting out a big breathe of air and wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. He rested himself on his elbows and met the Doctor’s eyes, raising an eyebrow in a dare for the Doctor to say something.

“Did you create that explosion on purpose?” The Doctor finally asked.

“Oh no, that was an accident but as soon I realised you would come rushing in trying to be a knight in shining armour as usual I thought I could turn the situation into one that would benefit me. And I was right – that was the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages.” The Master replied, eyes twinkling mischievously and a slight smirk twitching at his lips.

The Doctor sighed and shut his eyes again, wondering what he did to deserve this. Oh yes.. he might have killed his entire species. And this was his penance. Even then, this punishment seemed a bit harsh.

The Master sat up a bit more and spoke again. 

“Oh come on. It was funny. Wasn’t it funny?”

The Doctor opened his eyes again and looked at the Master, who despite everything seemed to be having a fantastic time. It was rare for the Master to be in such a good mood, and the Doctor the pushover he was, decided he could let this ‘incident’ slide if the Master faking his death for thirty seconds would made him happy for the rest of the day. 

The Doctor let out an exasperated sigh, and let a small, fond smile tug as his lips.

The Master grinned, delighted at the reaction he’d gotten.

Did the Doctor regret letting the Master have his own lab? Most definitely. Did he regret not taking it away from him? Even more so. Would he regret it again in the future? Without a doubt.

But for the time being he was content for things to stay just the way they were.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave kudos and comments, feedback is always appreciated and motivates me to write more! Come and find me on Tumblr at **[jimkivk](http://jimkivk.tumblr.com/)** , or if you're a book fan, come and find my book blog, **[williamherxndale](http://williamherxndale.tumblr.com/)**. (◡‿◡✿)


End file.
